Peterborough Cathedral.
© Chel @ Sweetbriar Dreams
www.sweetbriardreams.blogspot.co.uk
unless otherwise stated.
Thursday of The Second Week in Lent.
Station at Saint Mary’s-Beyond-The-Tiber.
Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.
Violet Vestments.
Basilica of Santa Maria-in-Trastevere, Rome.
Photo: July 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Jensens
(Wikimedia Commons)
Today’s Station takes place in a Basilica erected shortly after The Peace of Constantine, by Pope Saint Julius I, and which is one of the first Churches in Rome Dedicated to The Mother of God. Mary is represented seated among The Wise Virgins, who hold their lamps. This is an allusion to the spring of oil, which gushed out at this spot shortly before The Birth of Him, Whom she had the happiness of carrying in her arms, and Who is called Christ, or, The Anointed of The Lord. This was one of the twenty-five Parishes of 5th-Century A.D. Rome.
Jeremias speaks to us in the Epistle of two men, one of whom put his trust in himself and the other in God. The first dries up like the heather in the desert, and the second bears the abundant fruits of his good works.
In like manner, says the Parable in the Gospel, there were two men, one of whom enjoyed life instead of doing Penance and the other suffered. The first went to Hell, whilst the second was carried by The Angels into Abraham's bosom.
This is a symbol of Israel, who rejected Christ and was cast out, whilst the Gentiles, through Baptism and Penance, enter into The Kingdom of God.
Let us implore The Lord to grant us, by His Grace, perseverance in Prayer and Fasting, in order that we may be delivered from the enemies both of Soul and body (Collect).
Mass: Deus, in adjutórium.
Preface: Of Lent.
The Apse,
Basilica of Santa Maria-in-Trastevere, Rome.
Photo: April 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Goldmund100
(Wikimedia Commons)
The following Text is from Wikipedia.
The Basilica of Our Lady-in-Trastevere (Italian: Basilica di Santa Maria-in-Trastevere) is a Titular Minor Basilica, one of the oldest Churches of Rome, perhaps the first in which Mass was openly Celebrated. The basic Floor Plan and wall structure of the Church date back to 340 A.D. The first Sanctuary was built between 221 A.D. and 227 A.D. by Pope Calixtus I and Pope Julius I.
The Inscription on The Episcopal Throne states that it is the first Church Dedicated to Mary, Mother of Jesus, although some claim that privilege belongs to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. In its Founding, it is certainly one of the oldest Churches in the City.
A Christian House-Church was founded here, about 220 A.D., by Pope Saint Callixtus I (217 A.D. - 222 A.D.) on the site of the Taberna Meritoria, an asylum for retired soldiers. The area was given over to Christian use by Emperor Alexander Severus, when he settled a dispute between the Christians and tavern-keepers, saying, according to The Liber Pontificalis: “I prefer that it should belong to those who honour God, whatever be their form of worship.”
In 340 A.D., Pope Julius I (337 A.D. - 352 A.D.) rebuilt the Titulus Callixti on a larger scale, and it became the Titulus Iulii, commemorating his Patronage. It was one of the original twenty-five Parishes in Rome.
The Altemps Chapel,
Basilica of Santa Maria-in-Trastevere, Rome.
Photo: October 2005.
Picture taken by User:Torvindus
(Wikimedia Commons)
It underwent two Restorations in the 5th- and 8th-Centuries A.D.. In 1140-1143, the Church was re-erected on its old Foundations, under Pope Innocent II. He razed the Church to the ground, along with the recently-completed tomb of his former rival, Pope Anacletus II, and arranged for his own burial on the spot formerly occupied by that tomb.
The richly-carved Ionic Capitals, re-used along its Nave, were taken either from the ruins of The Baths of Caracalla or the nearby Temple of Isis on The Janiculum. When scholarship during the 19th-Century identified the faces in their carved decoration as Isis, Serapis and Harpocrates, a Restoration under Blessed Pope Pius IX, in 1870, hammered off the offending depictions.
The predecessor of the present Church was probably built in the Early-4th-Century A.D., although that Church was the successor to one of the Tituli, those Early-Christian Basilicas that were ascribed to a Patron and perhaps literally inscribed with his name. The remains of Pope Callixtus I (☩ 222 A.D.) are preserved under The High Altar.
Pope Pius IV promulgating the Bull “Benedictus Deus”.
Artist: Pasquale Cati. Fresco (1588).
The Altemps Chapel,
Photo: June 2004.
Source: Own work.
Author: Torvindus
(Wikimedia Commons
The fifth Chapel, to the Left, is the Avila Chapel, designed by Antonio Gherardi. This, and his Chapel of Santa Cecilia in San Carlo ai Catinari, are two of the most architecturally-inventive Chapels of the Late-17th-Century in Rome. The Lower Order of the Chapel is fairly dark and employs Borromini-like forms. In the Dome, there is an opening, or Oculus, from which four Putti emerge to carry a Central Tempietto, all of which frames a light-filled Chamber above, illuminated by windows not visible from below.
The Avila Chapel (designed by Antonio Gherardi),
Basilica di Santa Maria-in-Trastevere, Rome.
Photo: October 2005.
Picture taken by Torvindus
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Church keeps a Relic of Saint Apollonia (her head, as well as a portion of the Holy Sponge). Among those buried in the Church are the Relics of Pope Callixtus I, Pope Innocent II, Anti-Pope Anacletus II, Cardinal Philippe d'Alençon and Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio.
The Romanesque Campanile is from the 12th-Century. Near the top, a Niche protects a mosaic of The Madonna and Child.
The mosaics on the façade are probably from the 12th-Century. They depict The Madonna enthroned and suckling The Child, flanked by ten women holding lamps. This image on the façade, showing Mary nursing Jesus, is an early example of a popular Late-Medæval and Renaissance type of image of The Virgin. The motif itself originated much earlier, with significant 7th-Century A.D. Coptic examples at Wadi Natrun, in Egypt.
The façade of the Church was restored by Carlo Fontana, in 1702, who replaced the ancient Porch with a sloping tiled Roof. The Octagonal Fountain, in the Piazza in front of the Church (Piazza di Santa Maria-in-Trastevere), which already appears in a map of 1472, was also restored by Carlo Fontana.
English: Basilica of Our Lady-in-Trastevere, Rome.
Italiano: Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere.
Polski: Bazylika Najświętszej Maryi Panny na Zatybrzu
w Rzymie (fragment kasetonowego sufitu).
Photo: September 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Fczarnowski
(Wikimedia Commons)
Ancient sources maintain the Titulus Santa Mariæ was established by Pope Alexander I around 112 A.D. Later Traditions give the names of the early Patrons of the Tituli and have retrospectively assigned them the Title of Cardinal: thus, at that time, the Cardinal-Patron of this Basilica, these Traditions assert, would have been Saint Calepodius. Pope Calixtus I confirmed the Titulus in 221 A.D. To honour him, it was changed into Ss. Callisti et Iuliani; it was re-named S. Mariæ Trans Tiberim (Saint Mary’s-Beyond-The-Tiber) by Pope Innocent II.
By the 12th-Century, Cardinal Deacons, as well as the Presbyters, had long been dispensed from personal service at the Tituli. Among the past Cardinal Priests holding the honorary Titulus of Santa Maria-in-Trastevere, have been the Cardinal Duke of York (whose Coat-of-Arms, topped by a Crown, rather than a Galero (Red Hat), is visible over the Screen to the Right of The Altar), James Gibbons and Pope Leo XII.
Józef Glemp was the Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Mariæ Trans Tiberim, until his death in January 2013. He has been succeeded by Carlos Osoro Sierra (born 16 May 1945), who is a Spanish Roman Catholic Prelate who has served as Archbishop of Madrid since 2014 and been a Cardinal since 2016.
As previously during this Lent, Zephyrinus is most grateful for the excellent Comments from visitors currently in Rome. Herewith, a Comment reference The Basilica of Santa Maria Trastevere.
ReplyDeleteThis ancient basilica, dating back to the 300’s AD, is often listed as a “must-see” for the visitor in Rome. It has an impressive portico facing its courtyard, a fountain restored by Carlo Moderna, and a tall 12th-C. campanile at the right, but it’s evident antiquity is what strikes most people as well as it’s beautiful artwork and architecture.
Upon entering the church, one is immediately struck by the 22 massive polished granite columns on either side: these were taken from Baths of Caracalla, from a distance 2.6 km away across the Tiber, which must have been an engineering feat. The intricate Baroque coffered ceiling is by the painter Domenichino (1581-1641), in the center of which is his painting of “The Assumption of the Virgin.”
Another recommended visit in this basilica is the ornate baroque Capella Altemps, a chapel to the left of the high altar; it is named for the Card. Markus Sittich Von Altemps (1533-1595), who participated in the Council of Trent and was a collector of great art (his extensive art collection is in the Museo Roma Nazionale). In this chapel, the main altarpiece is one of the earliest icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the “Madonna Della Clemenza.” It is thought to date to 6th C-9th C, and also thought to be miraculous, having been invoked during a disastrous Roman drought and carried through the streets, at the end of which the drought suddenly ended and rains miraculously appeared. There are many other great artworks in this beautiful basilica, too many to be mentioned here.
The Epistle is from Jeremiah 16:5-10, “How torturous is the human heart,” the reading preparing the early catechumens for the coming betrayal and Passion of our Lord. The Gospel is the “Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus,” Luke 16:19-31, “If they will not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not believe even if someone should rise from the dead.”
The Collect summarizes succinctly the message for the Catholic pilgrim in Lent:
“Grant, we beseech You, O Lord, the help of Your grace, that, being intent, as we ought upon fasting and prayer, we may be delivered from the enemies of soul and of body.” (Præsta nobis, quǽsumus, Dómine, auxílium grátiæ tuæ: ut, ieiúniis et oratiónibus conveniénter inténti, liberémur ab hóstibus mentis et córporis.)